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Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) discovered that the thymus gland, which is considered unnecessary for adults, is actually involved in protecting the human body from cancer.
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| The thymus gland is involved in protecting the human body from cancer. |
Accordingly, the thymus, which produces immune T cells before birth and during childhood, is generally considered inactive in adults and is sometimes removed during heart surgery to allow easier access to the heart and major blood vessels.
Researchers compared the risk of developing cancer and autoimmune diseases between 1,146 adults who had their thymus removed during heart surgery and 1,146 patients of the same sex and age who underwent the same surgery without their thymus removed. The results showed that five years after surgery, 91.9% of patients in the thymus removed group were still alive, compared to 97.2% of those without their thymus removed. This means that the chance of survival after thymectomy was 2.9 times lower. In addition, the risk of developing tumors was twice as high in those who had their thymus removed.
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